Saturday, 28 May 2016

I realised the other day that whilst this army is fairly tough, it is lacking elite close-combat units and 2+ saves. So how do I fix this? a big blob of Terminators.

A while ago I bought, built and painted some Tartaros Terminators, though weirdly I didn't do much of a post on them (apart from this WIP from 2013). After very little use in their previous load out, they found themselves wallowing at the bottom of a spares box of abandoned projects. No more!

I thought I'd make them bigger and better, and to showcase the nature of Chaos, the armour has been mixed up, and is now a mix of Tartaros, Cataphractii, Indomitus and Aegis Patterns. A few non-terminator parts were thrown into the mix to create a unique squad of six, with enough spares to add a few more later on.

I went to a more streamlined load out with this new squad, and most are armed with twin linked Bolters and power swords, with a few power fists dotted about, and a Reaper Autocannon for heavier targets.This was made from a spare Grav Cannon, aluminium tubes and green stuff.

The Champion is my favourite model of the unit (the Reaper being a close second). It was made using the lower half of captain Lysander (heresy!), the back of a Grey Knight Terminator, the front of a Thousand Sons Sorcerer, Cataphractii arms and Tartaros shoulders.

The ultimate plan for this unit is to either mount it in a Spartan or Storm Eagle for normal games, and something much, much bigger for large games...

Sunday, 15 May 2016

Abbadon's call to join his latest Black Crusade has been heard throughout the Eye, and hundreds of his personal envoys have been sent out to bargain, intimidate and coerce the support of the many chaotic warbands roaming the daemon-infested region of space.Xavar Kas, a proud warrior from the Black Legion's Sons of the Cyclops, was sent by the Despoiler to garner the support of the Scions of Change. Abbadon knew of their large collection of ancient heresy-era weapons and venerable heroes of those bygone days. Xavar arrived with a cohort of Chaos Space Marines, highly disciplined and methodical killers with wargear suggesting they specialised in covert operations; an apt association given their purpose for bothering the Scions.This newcomer is not yet trusted by every member of the warband. Whilst he has the support of several key sorcerers in the group, the ancient Contemptor pilot Renseneb shows a reluctance to trust the outsider: am open contempt that would not be tolerated by any other than the venerated Reseneb. Only time will tell if Xavya will fulfil the promises made, so for now it's still a matter of convincing the group to join.

A new model joins the ranks of the Scions of Change, but this one will be a change from all the blue and yellow you're probably used to. This guy will be part of a basic marine squad as a unit champion, and will be a 'cheaper' option in my lists to Rubrics.

I wanted to go for a 'mysterious traveller' feel to the model, and a Space Marine captain I got in a trade proved to be a great starting point.

Since grav-guns are not an option for Chaos models (yet), I used an extra Bolter barrel to make a twin-linked Bolter.

The head is from a Dark Vengeance chosen, and the belt icon was shaved off the lord from that same set.

His second arm was model to look like he was brushing away his cloak. This has been a really fun model to work on, and his accompanying squad will be equally awesome to work on.

Next up is the Chaos Contemptor, a model many of you seem to like, myself included. I've made it a bit more chaotic since last time.

A couple of small horns, from Dark Vengeance chosen, have been added to each side of the helmet. It's a subtle feature which I hope presents the image right.

To top the model off, a large Tzeentch banner. This particular part has been on at least 4 different models (including the Tartaros Terminators) and with the addition of a Captain's helmet, makes for a great feature of the model.

And with that's it's time to start painting these two. As usual, like and subscribe for more updates and regular chit-chat.

Sunday, 8 May 2016

The first stages of the Thousand Sons refurbishment have been going fairly well, and performs alright in matches. A win, followed by a couple of draws against Tau and Mechanicum, has given me a few ideas on where to expand. Previously I've added cultists and obliterators, but now my mind is set on the next units after that, where I think I'll need extra help against hordes and heavy armour.

To solve the first problem, I've build these guys: a squad of chosen armed with flamers. A squad full of templates is a fantastic tool against Orks, Tyranids and other horde units. If I get the infiltrate trait (or take Ahriman), I can image a lot of fun going down.

The models are mostly based on Space Marine Sternguard, with some 30k Flamers, Chaos backpacks and Thousand Sons/third party bits thrown into the mix. The Chapmion is a Chaos Sorcerer with a power fist and bolt pistol replacing the standard weapons. The bases are MDP Chapel Ruins in 32mm.

Next is my new favourite model, a Thousand Sons Contemptor. Though magnetised for any and all load-outs, I've gone with double multi-meltas, firstly because I already had one from the Betrayal at Calth Contemttor, and that saved me £9.50, and also because this load-out is the cheapest, a very good option against tanks. It's short ranged, but I think this could be counteracted with good movement, or use of my Dreadclaw.

The base model is very detailed and didn't require much work. I've added a pair of tzeentch icons to the shoulders, and a brazier to the hull. A couple more chaotic icons and trophies will be added, but I don't want to go overboard with it. The winged scarab will stay on the model, as it's a nice detail and doesn't necessarily say 'Imperium', especially when painted in the same style as the head dress (now referred to as the 'angry bunny' by the missus).

For the base I plan to sculpt hills and cliffs, burying some of the debris, which includes old tank track casts (failed track cast attempts) and some Taurox bits.